Three seasons in and Mabel Mora (Selena Gomez) remains somewhat of a mystery. As one-third of Only Murders in the Building‘s core trio, Mabel has had plenty of character development, especially in her relationships with Charles-Haden Savage (Steve Martin) and Oliver Putnam (Martin Short). She’s also had more love interests than any of the other characters, with a possible new relationship being teased between her and documentary filmmaker Tobert (Jesse Williams)—yes, I did spell that correctly.
Spoilers ahead for Only Murders in the Building season 3!
Granted, we’ve so far only seen four of this season’s 10 episodes, and anything can still happen. However, given the show’s track record with Mabel, as well as how she and Tobert met—which includes rom-com tropes like flirty, scathing banter and being locked in a dark closet together while investigating a murder—romance is likely to be on the horizon. Not to mention that the Only Murders in the Building season 3 trailer featured some shots of Mabel on what seems to be a date with Tobert, and there are also plenty of behind-the-scenes photographs of her in a sleeveless white wedding dress. Is this really happening?
Again, I’ll concede that we don’t know. Mabel’s wedding could very well be part of an elaborate ruse to catch this season’s killer. It certainly doesn’t feel like something she would do, but as I said before, Mabel is still somewhat of a mystery. She’s currently untethered—she doesn’t have a real job, she’s being kicked out of her aunt’s apartment, and Charles and Oliver are increasingly busy with their Broadway project—so it’s entirely possible she’d agree to get married to a handsome guy who can keep up with her lovably snarky demeanor on a whim. It’s hard to say for sure.
So if, hypothetically, Mabel does embark on a grand romance with Tobert, I can’t help but wonder if it’s at all necessary. A romance could so easily become the one thing that defines her this season, and Mabel deserves more. She’s had plenty of love interests already. There was Oscar (Aaron Dominguez) in season 1, Alice (Cara Delevingne) in season 2, and some fans have even shipped her with Theo Dimas (James Caverly)—to be fair, they did have great chemistry.
But after each season, Mabel’s love interests are forgotten and a new one takes center stage, waiting to become a prime homicide suspect.
Now there’s Tobert.
I understand where the show’s writers are coming from. The stakes are higher if the murderer is someone romantically close to our favorite characters, as Only Murders in the Building season 1 so poignantly proved. The same can be said for Oliver’s new season 3 love interest, actress Loretta Durkin (Meryl Streep), who has just as much of a chance of being the killer as Tobert. But a storytelling trick like this one can become repetitive, and for now, at least—until the show (hopefully) proves me utterly wrong—Mabel’s latest romantic entanglement feels redundant.
I’d rather there was more focus on Mabel, Charles, and Oliver’s dynamic, or even that they bring back characters like Oscar and Theo so that Mabel’s relationships with them can be explored further. She had great, genuine chemistry with both of them, and neither of those relationships needs to become romantic. They can just be friends—Mabel deserves more friends her own age, despite what Charles would call her “old lady energy.” Even Alice, at the very least, could share in Mabel’s love of art. What do she and Tobert have? I guess we’ll have to wait to find out, but I hope it’s less than what Only Murders in the Building season 3 is currently implying.
(featured image: Hulu)
